(ANSA) - Milan, February 13 - Italian researchers have found a gene they say is able to “shut down” tumours with a “new and unique” mechanism. The team at a research institute at Rozzano near Milan said the discovery of the Ptx3 gene was “unexpected”. “We hope it will have major implications on the clinical front,” said research leader Alberto Mantovani of the Humanitas institute. Their work, funded by Italian cancer research association Airc, has just been published in the journal Cell.

Italian foreign minister calls for expansion of EU rescue mission with thousands risking lives in recent days.Thousands of migrants have risked their lives in rough winter seas in the last week as they tried to reach Italy from Libya, among them reluctant travellers who were forced into rickety boats at gunpoint.The surge in crossings at a normally quiet time of year suggests plans to deter migrants by cutting back rescue operations have failed, as aid groups had warned they would. There are fears the summer peak may bring more loss of life.